Tough Test for Pats Coming Up

“They will be as loud as we allow them to be.” Bill Belichick on the war zone of an environment he and his 1-0 Patriots will be playing in come this Sunday.

Usually, early season match-ups with the Buffalo Bills are a lock for a confidence boosting W. But, this year is a little different. The Bills don’t look like the Bills in the sense that, they look pretty damn good.

Their defense, last week, set the tone with an interception late in the 1st quarter while the game was still tied. And on the ensuing possession, 4th-year QB Tyrod Taylor heaved one deep and found, offseason pick up, Percy Harvin for six. Buffalo had learned to take a turnover and turn it into a touchdown. That’s new. Tyrod Taylor is also new, and seems to look competent enough to at least game-manage this team. Which is exactly what they need with as stout of a defense they have. Now if they just had a run game…

Yeah, they have that too. And it’s not just LeSean McCoy, it’s Williams and Dixon as well. They attacked a weak Colts D with a running back by committee, something the Patriots like to do. The biggest part of those three is obviously McCoy but, its the passing game where he can really hurt you. Patriots were not good against the run last week so they’ll have their hands full with that.

They’ll also have their hands full with a front four that got to Andrew Luck early, and often last week. Luck went 26-49 with 243 yards passing, 2 TD and 2 INT. Most of those incompletions were a product of the pass rush, not letting Luck find an open receiver. This will be the Patriots biggest problem all Sunday, with a rookie center in David Andrews.

The Patriots will have to look to their best options in Edelman and Gronkowski. But even then, the Bills have allowed the fewest touchdowns by a tight-end since the beginning of last season (3).

Oh and The Ralph. Its going to be loud up there in Buffalo. This is their fans first crack at Brady since all the crap that went on this offseason. Also the first away game of the year for the Patriots. A bad combo, but if there’s anyone who can weather it, its Tom and Bill. “They will be as loud as we allow them to be.”